Creating controllable sets of bound states in the continuum

Using representation theory, one can prove that current implementations of symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum (BICs) in photonic crystal slabs can only yield BICs at the center of the Brillouin zone and below the Bragg diffraction limit, which fundamentally restricts their use to single- or few-frequency applications. Instead, this limitation must be overcome by altering the system’s radiative environment. In this talk, I will show how to create lines of BICs by altering the radiative environment surrounding a photonic slab, as well as degenerate pairs of symmetry-protected BICs with independent control over their Q factors and frequency splitting.